A lifetime of service leads to a lifetime achievement honor for Kim Kellogg
Who knew that pulling weeds could lead to a major award?
Each year the Holmes County Chamber of Commerce singles out an individual worthy of the beloved Chamber Lifetime Achievement Award. Ask chamber executive director Shasta Mast how difficult the process is to narrow a large list of worthwhile nominees down to just one.
This year’s recipient was Kim Kellogg, who was honored at the annual Holmes County Chamber of Commerce annual meeting and awards banquet on Nov. 9 at Carlisle Inn at Walnut Creek.
Even with a lengthy list of worthy nominees, considering his body of work and his instrumental role in helping to create not only a successful business in Grasshopper Property Maintenance, but also to have taken on a major role in the creation of the new facilities at Harvest Ridge, the timing was perfect to honor a man who has touched the lives of a great number of people in a very positive way.
Upon accepting his award, Kellogg selflessly turned the accolades over to the people of Holmes County, stating he is only one of many who are worthy of this honor.
“It’s crazy to me that I can be counted among the group of others who have been singled out for this amazing award,” Kellogg said. “This room is filled with men and women who have served this community. To those who give and give and give to causes that enrich this community and benefit others, thank you.”
Kellogg, a former police officer in Phoenix, Arizona, moved to Killbuck in 1975 with his wife Char to take on a youth ministry role and community development through the Mennonite Mission Network. The couple served as longtime youth sponsors at Martins Creek Mennonite Church, touching the lives of many young people along the way.
Kellogg got into sales with Graphic Publications Inc. and then found himself as the general manager of a new Holmes County radio station, WKLM 95.3.
Eventually Kellogg began mowing yards as a transition into finding some gainful employment elsewhere. That was in 1991. More than a quarter century later, he is still hard at work making Holmes County a much more beautiful place to live.
Presenter Jay Conn, Kellogg’s pastor at Martins Creek Mennonite Church, noted that Char Kellogg said “Grasshopper was something Kim was going to do until he found a real job.”
Instead, Grasshopper Property Maintenance began to blossom as Kellogg took a grassroots company and combined hard work, integrity and faith into something special.
“Kim has allowed his own character to shine through his business, building a professional and respectful reputation in Holmes County and across Ohio,” Conn said. “Over the last 26 years they have made our area look absolutely beautiful, and it is because of his character and his passion. What really stands out about Grasshopper is the amount of graciousness they extend in what they do. The Kelloggs are full of charity and are the most giving people I know.”
Kellogg’s expertise eventually landed him in the role of the newest president of the Ohio Turf Grass Association.
After some good-natured ribbing, Conn got down to earnestly singing the praises of the myriad of accomplishments Kellogg has achieved.
“When I first met Kim, I found him to be larger than life,” Conn said, having met Kellogg as a teen. “Kim seemed to know everyone, and everyone seemed to know Kim, and they loved him. I can honestly say that by the end of my high school years, Kim was instrumental in changing my life, and I was on a course to becoming a pastor.”
Even as he and Char worked to raise their two sons, Chad and Matthew, Kellogg found ways to make an impact on those around him. He invested in a bicycling ministry and then ventured into the music industry as the owner and director of Grass Roots Ministries, which brought in Christian musicians like Michael Card, Whiteheart, Michael W. Smith and Petra.
In addition both Kim and Char have been sojourners to Mongolia, where they have gone on mission trips numerous times to build community and faith in a world halfway across the globe to a people very different than those in Holmes County.
Kellogg also has been a part of Holmes County by taking on some key roles. He served as a board member for the Holmes County Chamber of Commerce from 2005-13. Kellogg was instrumental in opening avenues for the chamber to move from its former small building into the former Commercial & Savings Bank facility on the square in Historic Downtown Millersburg, where the chamber is located today. Kellogg headed up the charge that rebuilt the former bank into a visitor’s center and the Chamber of Commerce & Tourism.
As the vice president of the newly created Holmes County Fairgrounds at Harvest Ridge, Kellogg helped create the original feasibility committee that went on to explore various options to move a fairground that was well known for its flooding. As the new fairground facility took shape, Kellogg was right in the midst of the entire building process.
“He took his board to another level, but at the same time he was also willing to do the little things, like weed eat, clean bathrooms, wash windows and haul supplies,” Conn said.
Through his many experiences, Kellogg has touched the lives of many people in and around Holmes County and even far beyond its borders. His list of accomplishments is an inspiration, and Conn said what you see is what you get when it comes to being around Kellogg.
“Kim is a man of integrity, he is a man of character, he is a man of honor, he is a man of God and he is also a really funny guy,” Conn said. “He is Kim. He is who he is. He is real, and he is sincere. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love Kim Kellogg and respect him. But what I absolutely love about Kim is his passion. He is a cancer survivor and one of the most amazing grandfathers I know. He handles everything with grace and steadfastness.”
Conn said when he thinks of scripture that best defines Kellogg, it is “whatever you do, work at it with all of your heart as though you were working for the Lord and not for people."
He continued by explaining his thankfulness for Kellogg. "We are blessed to have Kim as a member of our church, but we are blessed to have him as part of our community,” Conn said. “He loves life, and if you are blessed enough to be a part of his life, you will experience that firsthand.”
Kellogg said his faith has been instrumental on him and his family’s journey and that serving in faith has driven him, regardless of whether it was in the sales world, with his family or through Grasshopper, which he believes is simply an extension of his family’s faith.
He quoted Jeremiah 29:11, which reads, “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
“When Char and I moved here in 1975, we could never have imagined what direction our lives would take or how deeply rooted we would be in this community,” Kellogg said.
He noted that they had even kept their house in Phoenix, believing that once they were done with their service ministry project, they would move back there. But once they settled in here and began a family, he said the idea of raising a family and spending their lives in Holmes County was simply too good to leave.
“God has blessed us every step of the way with mentors,” Kellogg said. “We have been given such diverse opportunities to stretch and grow and have had the privilege of working with dedicated and selfless associates and wonderful, hard-working employees. We have had disappointments, challenges and failures. It is life after all. These are enough to keep us very humble but not to break us. God is faithful.”
In closing Kellogg shared the love and joy of his family that has been at the very heart of his life since the beginning, including welcoming in daughters-in-law Summer and April and their grandchildren.
“The greatest reward is the simple opportunity to do what I do with the people I love in the community I cherish,” Kellogg said.